Latvia’s proposed immigration law changes remain suspended after President Edgars Rinkēvičs sent the bill back for a second review.
This means that the proposals for a real estate investment (€250,000) and a bank deposit investment (€280,000) in exchange for Latvian residency remain active until the autumn session, when the Latvian Congress, Saeima, reconvenes.
The new law proposes replacing these programs with an alternative investment fund option of € 150,000. Restrictions on Russian/Belarusian citizens have also been added.
Latvia’s parliament, the Saeima, had passed the new Immigration Law in early June, replacing the statute that has governed foreign residence since 2002. But President Rinkēvičs declined to put the law into effect, asking for a new review of the provisions deciding who may obtain residence through investment.
Since parliament’s spring session closed on June 18, any second vote won’t commence until the autumn session.
What Would Latvia’s New Investment Routes Require?
The rewrite closes two existing routes: buying real estate worth at least €250,000 (about $285,000) and placing €280,000 (about $319,000) as subordinated capital with a Latvian credit institution. Applications filed before the new law takes effect would run under current rules, and existing permits would stay valid to their registration date.
In place of the property route, the law adds a new ground under Article 27(1)(36): a permit of up to five years for an investment of at least €150,000 (about $171,000), placed for at least five years with a state-created alternative investment fund manager, plus a separate €10,000 payment to the state budget. The fund manager that would receive the payment has not yet been built, and the vehicle awaits separate legislation.
One existing route survives under Article 27(1)(10): a company-investment permit requiring a €10,000 budget payment and at least €50,000 invested in a company with no more than 50 employees, or €100,000 in a larger company, with annual tax payments of €40,000 or €100,000 depending on tier. The permit term has been cut from five years to two. No more than 10 foreign investors may qualify through any single company.
Several other proposals, including a stake in special economic zone companies, a zero-interest government-bond route and a flat €60,000 tax payment for investors, were rejected before the law’s final reading.
The law as passed also bars most discretionary residence permits for Russian and Belarusian citizens, a restriction added after the fund route was found to lack one. Latvia’s golden visa program, launched in 2010, has been under increasing scrutiny since a 2018 Moneyval review and a recent investigation into more than 20 firms over suspected abuse of the existing share-capital route, a record critics cite in pressing for tighter rules.
Until the Saeima acts again, either by re-adopting the law unchanged, amending it or letting it lapse through the recess, the traditional real estate, bank deposit, and company-investment routes all remain open under the current, active rules.
